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Our Members

The APF is made up of 26 National Human Rights Institutions from across the Asia Pacific region.

The APF was established in 1996 with five members. Today, our membership includes 26 National Human Rights Institutions from all corners of the Asia Pacific.

Within the rich social and cultural diversity of our membership, APF members work collaboratively to address some of the most complex human rights challenges in our region.

We offer a comprehensive program of services to support our members in their work to promote and protect human rights.

APF membership

The APF has 17 full members and eight associate members.

To be admitted as a full member, a National Human Rights Institution must fully comply with the minimum international standards set out in the Paris Principles.

National Human Rights Institutions that partially comply with the Paris Principles are granted associate membership.

To ensure consistency and to minimise duplication, we may use the accreditation decisions of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to determine APF membership status.

We also provide practical support to our members before, during and after the GANHRI accreditation process.

Full membership of the APF is equivalent to the GANHRI accreditation of "A status" and associate membership of the APF is equivalent to the GANHRI accreditation of "B status".

Becoming an APF member

Any National Human Rights Institution in the Asia Pacific region can apply to join the APF. 

Decisions about the admission of new members to the APF are made by the Forum Council.

The Forum Council can also amend the membership category of an existing member, based on the accreditation decisions of GANHRI.

For further information about becoming a member, please contact the APF secretariat.